The lack of energy in the gym was evident early. Not only with the Nordonia boys basketball team but also the student section who didn’t make a sound while the home team was introduced. Solon jumped out to an early lead and never gave it up in an 85-49 trouncing of the Knights in Macedonia.
The Comets jumped out to a 9-2 lead thanks to aggressive full court pressure. A time-out with 4:42 left in the 1st quarter didn’t help as Solon extended the lead to 19-2. That is when Coach Bernie Clark, in for Head Coach Kirk Culler who was out due to a family matter, called his 2nd timeout to again review the Nordonia press break strategy. With Solon up 22-2, Justin Post hit both ends of a 1 & 1 to stop the scoring drought. The Knights ended the quarter with their first signs of energy and a 9-3 run but the Comets up 25-11.
Sophomore guard Drew Petros got Nordonia off to a good start in the 2nd quarter with a couple early buckets but then the 3-pointers started falling for Solon. One after another, stretching the lead to 54-26 at the half. The crowd enjoyed the Nordonia band, which played several hit songs at the half, while the team tried to regroup in the locker room. With one of Solon’s best players, Sophomore guard Sincere Carry, on the bench in street clothes, his teammate Senior Reid Thompson stepped up big by scoring 22 points in the 1st half.
Solon stretched the lead to 73-28 after a 3rd quarter that consisted of 8 Nordonia turnovers, most coming due to the Comet full court press. Early in the 4th quarter, both teams had multiple players on the floor going after a loose ball. Unfortunately it ended with one player bleeding and another insisting he was punched in the eye. The resulting black eye definitely backed up his assertion. No foul was called on the always aggressive Comets on that play. Give credit to the players and coaches for not letting the game get out of hand after the incident.
With the win, the Comets improved to 6-9 on the season. They were led by Thompson’s 28 points, Junior Jason Steele added 16 and Senior Daryl Johnson, Jr. chipped in 15. The Knights (4-13) were led by Petros’ 14 points. Junior guard Mike Piotrowski added 11 points with 3 threes and Junior Ryan Smith had 10 points, all in the 1st half.
The Nordonia JV did not fair any better, dropping the earlier contest 82-51. The game started with Solon making steal after steal off of their full court press and taking a 19-0 lead. The Comets held a 47-20 half time lead. The Knights played an all around good 3rd quarter, limiting their turnovers, helping more on defense and being aggressive at the offensive end. Most of the offense was provided by Sophomore Spencer Harp who ended the contest with a season high 20 points. Solon was led by Freshman David Marbury’s 28 points. His teammate Sophomore Thomas Wilks chipped in 14 points.
Thankfully the Knights’ Freshmen team won in the first game of the evening. It kept Nordonia basketball from going 0-3 for the third time in 8 days. Nordonia’s next game is Friday February 5th at Cuyahoga Falls.
Photos by Victor Milani
